The People's Network reconstructs the story of U.S. and Canadian independent telephone companies which challenged the Bell System's market domination in the twentieth century, linking the fight to control telecommunications to dueling political philosophies: regional versus national identity, local versus centralized power.

The People's NetworkThe Political Economy of the Telephone in the Gilded Age

Robert MacDougall

Introduction. A Fight with an OctopusChapter 1. All Telephones Are LocalChapter 2. Visions of TelephonyChapter 3. Unnatural MonopolyChapter 4. The Independent AlternativeChapter 5. The Politics of ScaleChapter 6. The System GospelConclusion. Return to Middletown